iPhone 6 Bendgate: How Does It Impact The Buyer's Decision?
Apple's iPhone 6 has been selling well but its release is nothing without the controversies surrounding it. Following the "Bendgate" incident, how is Apple's iPhone 6 doing?
Phone Arena very recently did a poll on how the iPhone 6 Plus' "bendgate" issue will affect their decision to buy Apple's flagship phablet. Majority of the respondents said the issue has them worried, with only one-fifth of the responders saying they don't see it as too much of an issue. The poll comes after the first pressure test on the iPhone 6 Plus became viral, showing that the unit may be deformed when pressure is applied.
Over 80% of the respondents said the stress test results that blew up to become "Bendgate" have them worried, while just a little over 19% said the test results are not a big issue. Phone Arena noted that Apple may replace the deformed iPhone 6 Plus unit upon visual inspection by their Genius employees at the Apple Store.
Consumer Reports Refutes BendGate
A report on Mashable features Consumer Reports' own findings on the BendGate issue. According to their piece, Consumer Reports did not believe in the initial pressure test that became viral, and they have proceeded to conduct their own tests on various mobile devices - the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and an LG G3.
The results showed that the iPhone 6 Plus isn't as easily bendable as shown in the viral stress test. According to Mashable's report, Consumer Reports said it takes 90 pounds of force to bend the iPhone 6 Plus case and 110 pounds to remove the screen, while the iPhone 6 requires 70 pounds of force to bend and 100 pounds before the screen comes off. In comparison, it takes 55 pounds of force to break three pencils. These results could help Apple recover from BendGate and restore faith in their flagship products.
Unbox Therapy Releases Second Video
Meanwhile, according to a report by MacWorld UK, Unbox Therapy has released a second video following inquiries into the legitimacy of their now-viral BendGate video. The video shows Lewis Hilsenteger using what he claims to be a new phone out of the box, but MacWorld UK points out that the phone looks to be already set up when Hilsenteger switches the screen on. He then proceeds to bend the iPhone 6 Plus with his hands, and compares it with the Moto X, which in comparison does not bend at all.
Apple has already released a statement saying only nine of the consumers who bought the iPhone 6 Plus have reported bent devices in the first week of their sales. The Cupertino-based company sold 10 million iPhone 6 devices to users, according to MacWorld UK's report.